The present invention relates to the construction and installation of tiles, especially decorative floor, wall and ceiling tiles. Specifically, the invention relates to a reversible tile and a method of finishing the tile after installation on a surface.
Hardwood is a standard material used in the construction of modern flooring. Standard hardwood floor construction comprises strips of hardwood fixed sequentially to the floor. The strips typically interlock with each other and are attached to the subfloor using fasteners and/or adhesive. After the subfloor is covered with hardwood strips, the top surface of the strips is sanded. The sanding serves two purposes: first, to improve the surface finish of the wood in preparation for varnish or oil; and second, to limit the strip-to-strip differences in thickness, both for appearance and to eliminate differences in elevation of the top surface, from strip-to-strip, that may trip a person walking on the floor. Because the strips are sanded together after installation, manufacturing tolerances in strip thickness and surface finish need not be critical and the underlying floor or sub-floor need not be perfectly smooth.
Ceramic or stone tiles are also frequently used in construction of modern flooring. Such materials are difficult or impossible to finish in situ, requiring special grinding equipment. Often, no in situ machining is done and instead the thickness of each individual tile is held within a small tolerance to reduce variations in height. In addition, the tiles themselves may be designed to reduce the effect of uneven height between adjacent tiles. For example, a tile may have a chamfer around its edge to make the height transition between adjacent tiles more gradual. Grout may also be used to compensate for irregularities between adjacent tile heights.
It is further known to use tiles in conjunction with another material in forming a composite floor. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,048, ceramic tiles are separated by a grid of sheet vinyl or the like. The tiles are placed in openings in the grid and are raised to the level of the vinyl sheet surface by a felt shim bonded to the back of each tile. No provision is made, other than the felt shim, to eliminate inequality in height between the tile and the grid.
Stone tiles have been bonded to a wood backing for purposes of processing and later mounting. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,030, marble pieces are bonded to a wood layer and are later subjected to grinding and polishing to form a single tile.
It is known to build flooring from units having a hardwood frame surrounding a ceramic or stone tile. The tile is backed by a sandable shim such as particle board. The flooring unit is shipped to the construction site with the tile removed and replaced by a machinable filler block. The tile is shipped separately. After installation of the tiles on the floor, the floor is finished with the filler block in place, the filler block providing support for the sanding equipment between the hardwood frames. After the sanding and finishing is complete, the filler blocks are removed and replaced with the tiles. While this technique permits finishing and refinishing of the hardwood frames without damage to the tile, it has several disadvantages. In shipment, the tiles are loose and may be damaged. Furthermore, no compensation is made for variations between the thickness of the tile and the thickness to which the frame is surfaced at various locations around the floor. Variations in heights between the tile and the frames may result in problems of appearance and/or may create tripping obstacles.
There is therefore a need for an improved floor tile that may be finished in situ, and for an improved method for the installation of floor tiles, including the finishing of the floor tiles in situ.